Mate in 3: queen to b2 (b1)
c9-26117naming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Difficulty 1630 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
In Chess960 the pieces start on unfamiliar squares, so tactics appear earlier and from unusual angles. Do not trust classical patterns — read the actual lines of the bishops, the rooks and the queen from where they really stand in this position.
In a mate in three every move must be forcing; the defender should never get a free tempo. Find the check or threat that herds the king, calculate the single defence to each, and confirm the net closes on the third move.
General method: before you move, list the forcing candidates — every check, every capture, every direct threat — and calculate those first. The solution to a tactic is almost always among them.
Position on the board
White: king d3, queen b1, rook e1, bishop g1, knight a6, pawn h2 f3 c4 a5 c5 e6.
Black: king c8, rook g8, bishop b2, pawn e3 h5 d6 a7.
11 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 32.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 14 points of material (26 against 12; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d3, the black king on c8.
It is White to move on move 32, with 26 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d.
The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
32. Qxb2 Kd8 33. cxd6 Ke8 34. Qb8#
Why it works
- Best move. queen to b2 is exactly what the engine plays (#2).
- Spot on — pawn to d6 (#1).
- Precise: queen to b8 is the top choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kd8, then cxd6 and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 32. Qxb2 — queen to b2 (capture)
- Kd8 — king to d8
- 33. cxd6 — pawn to d6 (capture)
- Ke8 — king to e8
- 34. Qb8# — queen to b8 and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
Mate in 3
A forced checkmate in three moves.
Mate in three is a forced staircase: each of your moves narrows the opponent's choices, and the third one ends the game. Look for the start among checks and sacrifices — quiet first moves are rare in mating problems, but deliciously sneaky. Keep the tree in your head: every defense gets its own branch. Do not stop calculating after move two — see the final mating picture with your own eyes.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #239.
SP-239 · ThroneScout — King in the middle of the rank, with a knight already committed to the corner.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and f1, the queen on c1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from d1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 624.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 26 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +34 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #239Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 012 · SP-239
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